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THE  SUPREME  LESSON  WHICH  CHRIST  CAME 
TO  TEACH  WAS  THAT  NO  MAN  LIVETH  TO 
HIMSELF:  THAT  THE  STRONG  OUGHT 
TO  BEAR  THE  BURDENS  OF  THE  WEAK 


JF  THERE  IS  YET  ONE  HIGHER  JOY  THAN 
THAT  OF  PAYING  THE  DEBT  WE  OWE,  USUALLY 
IT  IS  THAT  OF  PAYING  FOR  OTHERS 
THEIR  DEBTS  WHICH  WE  DO  NOT  OWE 


WHAT  CAN   JESUS  CHRIST  DO 
WITH  ME 


What   Can   Jesus 
Christ  Do  With  Me 


BY 
WILFRED   T.  GRENFELL 

M.D.  (OxoN.) 
Superintendent  Labrador  Medical  Mission 


THE    PILGRIM    PRESS 

BOSTON  NEW  YORK       CHICAGO 


Copyright,  igia 
By  Wilfred  T.  Grenfell 


Published,  October.  1912 


THE-PLIMPTON.PRBSS 

1  W  .  D -O] 
NORWOOD'MASS-VS'A 


FOREWORD 

the  many  preachers  and  lec- 
turers  who  come  and  go  at  Har- 
vard University  during  the  collegiate 
year,  no  one  is  more  sure  of  a  warm 
welcome  and  a  more  appreciative  hear- 
ing than  is  Dr.  Wilfred  T.  Grenfell, 
the  Labrador  missionary  physician. 
Two  of  his  addresses  hi  recent  years 
stand  out  with  peculiar  distinctness. 
One  undertook  to  answer  the  question : 
What  WiU  You  Do  With  Jesus  Christ? 
This  was  published  in  book  form  not 
long  after  its  delivery.  A  year  later  hi 
[5] 


the  same  place  Dr.  Grenfell  reversed 
his  earlier  question  and  asked  his 
auditors  to  consider:  What  Can  Jesus 
Christ  Do  With  Me?  This  second 
address  is  now  given  to  the  public  hi 
a  little  volume  which  may  serve  as  a 
companion  to  its  predecessor. 


[6] 


WHAT  CAN   JESUS  CHRIST 
DO  WITH  ME 


WHAT  CAN  JESUS  CHRIST 
DO  WITH  ME 

SO  marvelous  and  so  undeniable  is 
still  the  influence  of  Jesus  in 
modern  life  that  even  men  who  start 
to  criticize  the  accounts  we  have  of 
the  Master  almost  always  end  up  in  a 
sort  of  vague  suspicion  that  hi  reality 
it  is  they  who  are  standing  at  his  judg- 
ment bar.  That  is  a  far  more  impor- 
tant question  —  What  does  he  think 
of  us?  —  than,  What  do  we  think 
of  him?  —  The  honest  student  of  the 
[9] 


records  of  his  life  must  acknowl- 
edge that  Jesus'  opinion  of  us  would 
be  formed  on  what  we  were  willing  to 
let  him  do  with  us. 

Some  are  surprised  that  a  surgeon, 
who  sees  death  so  often  and  has 
forced  upon  him  the  inevitableness  of 
it,  is  still  always  more  deeply  interested 
in  the  things  which  have  to  do  with 
the  brief  time  we  spend  on  earth  than 
with  the  prospects  of  what  will  happen 
to  us  in  the  eternity  beyond. 

But  to  us  it  is  a  wonder  that  those 
who  are  so  deeply  concerned  with  a 
future  of  which  they  can  know  so 

little  should,  in  the  face  of  the  teach- 

[101 


ings  of  the  Master  whom  they  profess 
to  follow,  attach  such  slight  impor- 
tance to  the  only  section  of  life  they  are 
sure  they  can  influence ;  for  I  presume 
I  am  addressing  myself  to  those  who 
consider  that  the  ability  to  influence 
another  man's  destiny  when  you  can 
no  longer  reach  him  through  the  me- 
dium of  his  body  is  at  least  problem- 
atical. The  condition  of  the  body 
through  which  the  soul  now  interprets 
itself  must  be  as  material  to  its  wel- 
fare as  the  ancients  thought  it.  To  us 
it  seems  natural  to  insist  that  the  body 
and  the  mind  receive  at  least  equal 
attention  with  the  soul.  To  me  the 
[ill 


beauty  of  all  the  Master's  teachings  is 
their  plain  common  sense. 

All  through  Christ's  teachings  the 
only  class  of  men  to  be  cast  out  of  his 
Kingdom  are  "the  unprofitable."  He 
that  defileth  is  only  a  subdivision  of 
the  first  class  and  "  he  shall  not 
enter."  If  "the  unprofitable"  has  to 
go  there  is  no  chance  "  for  him  that 
maketh  a  lie." 

What  is  more  natural  than  that  that 
which  is  no  use  should  be  dropped 
out?  The  process  involves  no  unrea- 
sonable fury  or  insensate  wrath.  It 
is  what  happens  everywhere.  There 
is  not  a  hospital  anywhere  without  its 

[12] 


once  expensive  instruments  which  are 
now  discarded  as  useless.  They  will 
probably  go  into  the  fire  and  no  sen- 
sible man  would  wish  to  prevent  it, 
though  all  good  and  wise  folk  will  de- 
plore the  waste.  When  a  man,  for 
such  a  reason,  is  dropped  from  the 
football  team,  it  is  the  man  himself 
who  has  most  to  regret.  If  it  is  his 
own  fault  few  will  be  sorry  for  him. 
But  the  whole  team  will  be  forced  to 
deplore  the  fault  which  caused  it,  for 
that  means  their  loss. 

Now  in  every  man  who  is  worthy  of 
the  name  there  is  an  innate  sense  of 
debt  to  life.    To  claim  that  all  good 
[13] 


work  is  done  for  personal  gain  is  not 
tenable,  and  it  is  not  true.  Every 
man  who  has  sense  enough  to  look 
about  htm  can  plainly  see  the  doom 
of  the  man  who  has  said,  "  I  will  con- 
tribute nothing  to  the  work  of  the 
world."  He  is  as  big  a  fool  today  as 
ever  who  says,  "  I  have  much  goods,  I 
will  eat  and  be  merry." 

In  the  heart  of  every  true  man  is  the 
conviction,  "  I  must  do  something." 
Today  we  force  even  the  multi-million- 
aire to  give  his  children  a  prepara- 
tion, at  any  rate,  which  will  fit  them  to 
pay  this  debt  —  a  debt  which  no  gold 
and  silver  can  discharge.  Yet  there 

[14] 


is  considerable  danger.  The  Master 
taught  that  "the  rich"  will  find  most 
difficulty  in  this  matter.  He  also 
taught  that  the  possession  of  five 
talents  will  make  a  man  more  effective 
than  if  he  have  one,  but  he  gave  one 
concrete  example  in  which  he  declared 
that  unless  the  young  man  got  rid  of 
his  material  burden  he  could  not  ex- 
pect to  pay  the  real  debt  that  life  calls 
for.  You  cannot  hope  to  be  successful 
on  the  track  If  you  weight  your  pockets. 
All  weights  must  be  laid  aside  if  we 
are  to  win  in  the  race  of  life. 

It  is  nowhere  more  clearly  recog- 
nized than  hi  a  university  that  we  are 
[15] 


all  indebted  to  life.  There  every  one 
is  expected  to  do  more  than  pay  his 
bills  and  pass  his  examinations.  He 
is  looked  to  by  all  to  bring  honor  to  his 
Alma  Mater.  It  makes  little  differ- 
ence how  —  whether  on  the  athletic 
field  or  in  the  intellectual  arena,  or 
even  better  perhaps  hi  the  humbler 
routine  of  fidelity  to  a  more  heroic 
duty,  such  as  supporting  a  relative 
while  working  through  college.  Which- 
ever it  is,  the  fact  remains  that  the 
debt  is  acknowledged.  If  I  were  to 
contend  here  that  it  does  not  really 
matter  two  straws  whether  you  make 
good  in  life  or  not  so  long  as  you  do  not 
[16] 


make  the  penitentiary  or  the  poor- 
house,  without  question  you  would 
think  me  a  lunatic.  This  house,  these 
seats,  your  presence,  all  give  the  lie  to 
such  a  proposition.  You  cannot  deny 
it,  you  do  owe  a  debt  to  life ;  you  must 
make  good.  There  is  no  need  to  prove 
this  problem,  it  is  a  matter  of  faith. 
But  it  is  so  deeply  rooted  in  the  con- 
sciousness of  mankind  that  it  is  not 
less  proved  than  that  I  exist. 

Most  of  us  fully  acknowledge  our 
debt  to  life.  But  on  the  other  hand  we 
submit  all  too  easily  to  trying  to  pay 
the  claim  made  on  us  by  what  is  known 
as  "  Society."  No  sacrifice  seems  too 
[17] 


great  —  the  dictates  of  common  sense 
must  receive  no  attention  —  the  will- 
ing martyrs  to  its  demands  are  in- 
numerable. But  for  the  most  part, 
these  devotees  are  unconscious  of 
their  slavery  and  of  the  price  they 
pay.  It  is  only  when  appeal  is  made 
to  the  will  to  break  loose  from  conven- 
tions that  doubts  as  to  whether  we 
really  ought  to  pay  begin  to  trouble  us. 
We  want  to  know  with  our  brains ;  we 
want  to  distrust  the  monitor  in  our 
hearts.  But  both  faith  and  experience 
are  needed  to  make  knowledge. 

It  is  only  the  very  young  who  expect 

to  get  through  life  without  axioms;   it 

[18] 


is  only  the  dull  and  ignorant  who  have 
adequate  explanations  for  everything. 
It  is  only  the  insane  who  are  never 
troubled  with  doubts  as  to  the  capacity 
of  their  brains  to  grasp  "  the  Riddle 
of  the  Universe." 

The  real  question  is,  "  Are  you  will- 
ing to  pay?"  and  if  so,  "  How  are  you 
going  to  pay  —  in  what  coin? "  It 
was  the  commonest  question  which 
they  brought  to  the  Master  in  his  day. 
"What  must  I  do?"  It  was  a  ques- 
tion which  he  always  treated  as  of 
vital  importance,  and  as  relating  to 
everyday  life.  Those  who  had  done 
wrong  he  told  to  make  it  good.  To 
[19] 


the  teachers  and  rulers  he  said,  "  The 
debt  you  owe  is  to  extend  justice  and 
mercy,  to  show  faith  and  love."  They 
did  not  like  to  be  told  of  their  debt  any 
more  than  we  do,  much  less  to  have  it 
specified  in  terms  which  they  under- 
stood so  plainly,  and  therefore  had  no 
excuse  for  evading.  John  the  Baptist 
followed  the  same  principle.  To  the 
soldiers  he  said,  "Don't  be  violent; 
don't  accuse  falsely;  be  content;  obey." 
(Which  means,  be  good  soldiers.)  To 
government  officials  he  taught,  "  Take 
only  what  is  due  to  you,"  which  means, 
"  Don't  graft."  In  the  same  spirit  St. 
Paul  said  that  you  owe  a  debt  to  your 

[20] 


body.  "Know  ye  not  that  your  body 
is  the  temple  of  the  holy  Spirit?  Shall 
ye  make  it  the  member  of  a  harlot?  " 
That  there  is  a  debt  to  the  body  he 
makes  very  plain.  It  is  simple  and 
within  the  reach  of  all  of  us  to  pay  it. 
It  is  just  to  keep  it  pure  and  fit.  We 
surgeons  look  upon  this  as  an  un- 
doubted religious  duty. 

Perhaps  you  have  been  mistaken  in 
your  idea  of  what  the  Master  does 
require  of  you.  Will  you  not  consider 
the  matter  again  in  the  light  of  what 
he  really  does  ask?  Some  of  us  have 
not  read  the  Scriptures  in  the  common- 
sense  spirit  of  Christ  himself,  and  so 
[21] 


we  have  missed  finding  that  which 
would  have  been  the  word  of  eternal 
life  to  us.  To  whom  else  has  it  ever 
been  said,  "Lord,  to  whom  shall  we 
go?  Thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal 
life"? 

Repeated  experience  has  convinced 
me  that  the  feeblest  men  can  endure 
when  "seeing  him  who  is  invisible." 
It  was  in  no  transcendental  sense  that 
Jesus  said,  "Without  me  you  can  do 
nothing."  He  taught  that  his  presence 
gives  men  a  power  which  enables  them 
to  do  things.  When  he  was  asked  by 
a  lawyer,  "What  must  I  do?"  he  an- 
swered, "Thou  shalt  love."  One  might 

[22] 


suppose  that  this  is  the  one  thing 
beyond  our  control.  But  the  strength 
of  the  Master's  teachings  is  that  they 
are  all  positive,  all  constructive.  He 
told  us  all  not  to  pass  judgment  on 
those  who  differ  from  us  hi  faith. 

Again,  experience  verifies  the  fact 
that  if  a  man  is  willing  really  to  seek 
to  have  the  Christ  make  something 
out  of  him,  he  will  find  he  can  love  in 
a  practical  way  —  even  if  it  is  but  an 
imperfect  reflection  of  the  way  in 
which  the  Master  loved.  Perhaps  that 
is  why  the  only  other  thing  the  Master 
asked  men  to  do  when  he  was  leaving 

them    was    something    which    would 

[23] 


bring  him  to  their  remembrance, 
something  which  would  make  more 
real  to  them  the  fact  that  he  was 
ever  with  them. 

But  the  supreme  lesson  which 
Christ  came  to  teach  was  that  no  man 
liveth  to  himself;  that  we  strong  ought 
to  bear  the  burdens  of  the  weak.  If 
there  is  yet  one  higher  joy  than  that 
of  paying  the  debt  we  owe,  surely  it  is 
that  of  paying  for  others  their  debt 
which  we  do  not  owe.  Alone  of  all 
great  teachers  he  came  to  add  this  to 
the  beauty,  dignity,  and  joy  which  this 
brief  life  affords  us.  Christ  offers 
this  supreme  possibility  to  you  —  even 

[24]   " 


so  far  you  may  have  the  joy  of  walking 
in  his  footsteps.  I  venture  to  repeat 
that  if  you  are  not  at  heart  convinced 
that  Jesus  was  all  he  claimed  to  be, 
the  paying  of  the  debt  of  others  will 
insure  you  peace  of  mind  on  that 
question.  Honor  and  lasting  joy  will 
come  to  you  only  as  you  pay,  and  in 
proportion  to  the  amount  the  payment 
costs  you. 

The  winner  of  a  " walkover"  can 
scarcely  be  considered  a  hero.  A  boy 
told  me  yesterday  that  he  had  won  his 
first  tie  in  a  contest,  but  the  victory 
lost  its  zest  when  I  learned  that  his  ad- 
versary had  "scratched."  Sir  Walter 

[25] 


Scott's  books  were  once  widely  read, 
and  he  was  admired  for  them.  Now 
fewer  people  read  him,  but  those  who 
know  how  uncomplainingly  and  how 
nobly  he  toiled  to  pay  off  debts  which, 
through  his  misfortune,  nearly  over- 
whelmed him  in  his  old  age,  love  him 
for  that  reason.  It  is  only  character 
which  lives;  that  is  why  the  Master 
is  the  Master  still.  He  was  only  a 
common  working-man.  The  learned 
and  the  great  of  the  world  rejected  him. 
He  met  death  in  his  youth,  a  crucified 
outcast.  But  he  rose  again,  and  he 
lives  today  and  for  all  time.  Will  you 
not  ask  him  what  he  can  do  with  you? 

[26] 


Heavenly  Father,  To  all  thy  many  gifts 
to  us,  add,  we  pray  thee,  the  hon- 
est desire,  in  thy  spirit,  to  pay 
to   the  utmost  our  debt 
to  life,  and  so  enable 
us  ever  to  do  the 
thing  that 
pleases 
thee. 


IF  THERE  IS  YET  ONE  HIGHER  JOY  THAU 
THAT  OF  PAYING  THE  DEBT  WE  OWE,  USUALLY 
IT  IS  THAT  OF  PAYING  FOR  OTHERS^ 
TBEIR  DEBTS  WHICH  WE  DO  NOT  OWE 


THE  SUPREME  LESSON  WHICH  CHRIST  CAME 
TO  TEACH  WAS  THAT  NO  >  MAN  LIVETH  TO 
HIMSELF:  THAT  THE  STRONG  OUGHT 
TO  BEAR  THE  BURDENS  OF  THE  WEAK 


